INTEGRATED PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE COASTAL LOUISIANA

Coastal Louisiana is one of the most vibrant and important landscapes in the USA. The diversity and abundance of resources in the coastal zone support a range of commercial and recreational activities of national importance. The economic value of this landscape was starkly demonstrated through the loss and disruption caused by the major storms that hit the State in 2005. In response to this the State of Louisiana has prepared a comprehensive plan to ensure the future sustainability, of its fragile coast. The plan represents the first of its type, integrating hurricane protection and conservation and restoration in order to ensure that the State's natural and man-made resources remain viable in the face if increasing threats into the future. In order to ensure that ongoing recovery actions were aligned with a strong long-term vision for the State, a highly aggressive timetable was set for the development of the Plan, requiring a first draft within just nine months of its inception. In order to achieve this, the State's Planning team sought to build on an existing planning model to ensure rapid progress. The UK Strategic Planning framework was identified as that best suited for integrated large scale planning, and was subsequently adopted to provide an overall framework. The paper, describes the plan context and sets out an overview of the planning approach adopted